310: One and the Same Wish

One and the Same Wish

I flew into his arms. He didn't need to say a word to tell me that the ritual had succeeded, as I knew the answer from the renewed power emanating from all over him. He hadn't felt this way ever since that "retreat", and I let out a deep sigh, knowing that this time, he had finally returned to me in his full glory, safe and sound.0

"How are you feeling?" I asked softly, snuggling further into his embrace, swept away by this familiar sensation of him that had been gone for too long.

He smiled. "I feel … free." He nodded toward Twin Stars, and from the corner of my eye, I saw a sparkle of light dancing over the tip of the blades, drifting into the veil of dusk. "The souls trapped within these swords are free as well," he added. "With the demonic power cleansed by the ritual, they are now safe to enter the cycle of rebirth. They will finally start their new lives after almost three hundred years, and no more harm will come to them."

My heart swelled. I lifted my head, watching that glittering stream of soul lights disappear into the evening sky like a river of twinkling stars. It was so beautiful … And as I marveled at the sight in front of me, I realized that this was really an end to our circle. We had mended the mistake I made in my past life, and Bai Ye was no longer paying the price. Like he said, we were free.

Too many words rushed to the tip of my tongue, but I didn't know where to start. At last, I lowered my gaze and brushed my lips over his. "Thank you," I whispered, "for everything."

"We both have each other to thank." His warm breath lingered over my cheek, mingling with mine.

A surge of pride and joy made me smile. I nodded. Leaning into his arms, I let my mind drift in that refound power of his, lost in that moment of bliss.

But he didn't give me too much time to stray in that trance. "It's my turn to ask now, Qing-er." He tousled my hair gently. "How are you feeling yourself? Was the wait too long? Did the baby give you any trouble?"

The fact that he was still treating me like a porcelain doll made me chuckle. "I'm fine! It was actually just the right amount of time to finish all the food you prepared for me. You planned perfectly."

His eyes darted toward the tea table, and his lips curled in contentment. "Did you recognize where we are?" he asked next.

Oh, right. I was too focused on watching him earlier to think about that, and the blank look in my eyes gave him the answer. He flashed that mysterious smile at me again. "Come." He released me from his arms and led me toward a clearing facing east. "Does it look more familiar now?"

I shifted my puzzled gaze from his face to the sky in the distance.

The full moon had risen as we spoke, its bright silver light washing over the darkness, dimming all the stars. But the vast expanse above us didn't look empty because of it. Thousands of glowing lights dotted the velvety backdrop of the night, flickering and swaying against the breeze, crowding the entire eastern sky as they ascended higher and higher, leaping toward the moon.

"Sky lanterns?" I gasped. A thought fleeted across my mind, and it wasn't till then that I noticed the tall pagoda looming from afar, as well as the small town stretched beneath us at the foot of the hill we were standing on. "This is the town by Jade Temple!" I turned back toward Bai Ye. "This is where we—"

Words froze in my throat when I saw the big sky lantern he was holding in his hand. "I promised I'd make one for you this time," he smiled.

Yes, he did. Last year's Mid Autumn, he had surprised me just like this with two lanterns he bought ahead of time, and he had promised to make one for me himself when I told him about the traditions in my village. My eyes landed on the creation in his hand. It was much larger than the ones sold at the shops—almost the size of two of those—trimmed in fine paper and framed with perfectly polished bamboo. I would never be able to guess from the look of it that such an immaculate craft was made by his own hands.

"It's incredible …" I could only exclaim. Then I recalled our conversation last night in belated revelation. "You were pretending to have forgotten about Mid Autumn!" I shot him a glare. He must have remembered what day it was today to be able to make this lantern in advance.

He laughed a bit sheepishly. "I like seeing your surprised face," he replied without shame.

"…" Well, he certainly got to see what he wanted, two Mid Autumns in a row. I marveled again at the masterpiece of art in his hand. "You only made one?" I asked curiously.

"We only need one." He summoned a writing brush from his storage artifact and offered it to me. "Our wish is one and the same. Whatever you write down is what I want as well."

I looked at the writing brush, and suddenly, my thoughts wandered. Last year … he had bought two different sky lanterns, one for us each. We had both written our own wishes on them before sending them into the air. Why was it different back then? Why did he not want to wish for the same thing I wanted at that time?

A dull ache squeezed my heart. Was it because … on this day last year, he was already counting the number of days he had left in this world? What wish could he have written down with that thought in his mind?

I looked up at him, and the question had almost left my lips before I swallowed it back. It didn't matter anymore. There was no more such worry between us, and our new wish was all that counted from now on. We would have our new blessings for this new life, from this day till forever after.

So I stepped forward, draping my arms around his shoulders. "Do we still need to write it down in words?" I breathed. "You know, I know, and Heaven knows what wish we want to make. The one and only wish for the rest of our lives."

He was quiet for a moment. The night breeze rustled his hair, sending his scent wafting into my nostrils. Then I felt a hand landing on the lantern that I was still holding. "You are right," he said softly. "The one and only wish we ever need … is already written in the stars."

I smiled. Resting my cheek against his chest, I turned toward the lantern and uttered a spell. A small flame kindled at the center of the frame, glowing lambently through the paper shell. "Then are we ready?" I asked.

He nodded. Together, we lifted the lantern above us, while our other hand held each other's tight, interlacing our fingers. We both looked up. The river of lights was flowing right past us from above, illuminating the sky like the brightest stars dancing around the moon. The firelight in our own lantern pulsed and flared, as if eager to leap into the spectacle above and join our wishes with the rest.

I squeezed his hand, and we let go. The lantern took off into the air, rising steadily into the dazzling sky, and it quickly blended into the coruscating stream above us, into the river of blessings twinkling under the peaceful watch of the heavens.

He lowered his gaze, locking eyes with me. At that moment, we needed no more words to tell each other the fullness we felt in our hearts, the tender love we shared on this most special day for the families. We wrapped our arms around each other, and our lips met. Under the moon, under the stars, under the lanterns soaring high with dreams and hope.

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[Author's Note]

Here we are, everyone, at the last chapter of Qing-er and Bai Ye's story. The happily-ever-after that they fought so hard for is finally here … But remember, this is not the end of their adventure! If you want to meet the cute Bai Qingling, don't forget to check back for side stories :) Our beloved family will have more sweet moments to share with you there!

Thank you so much to all of you who followed their journey the entire way. I hope it has been a memorable ride. This book has gone through lots of ups and downs throughout the past year, and I deeply appreciate every single one of you who stayed with me despite all the changes, especially after my surgery in May. A big shoutout goes to my top fans GucciCat_Keli03, Joey77, BatOctopiSnakeSpdr, Patricia_Henslee, and mepope for your generous gifts, golden tickets, and privilege subscriptions; to wellfat, purelicious, and Happy_World for your nonstop support since the very first days of this book; to Rena_Khor and chew_jeslyn for keeping me company with your beautiful comments; and to everyone who recommended my story to your friends or through the reader's lab! Your love and support mean so much to me, and it's not exaggerating to say that this book couldn't have reached the end without you all <3

With the completion of this story, I'm planning to take a short break from writing and focus on my health for a while. BUT, I do have a few ideas for my next book that I'll be working on soon! If you'd like to stay tuned, please feel free to follow my reading list (found under the "Activity" tab of my profile) to get notified of my new work, or friend me directly on discord at Witchhazel#9045. I'd be happy to chat anytime and share my latest updates with you!

Again, thank you all my dear angels for accompanying me on this very special journey. I hope to see you again soon in the side stories and my next book <3

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[The above note was added post-publication and didn't affect the coin price of this chapter.]

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